Fast

Hi Everyone- Sheesh, could I have made a longer topic subject? Probably not. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The 2013 WI Cheese Boogie is almost here. As this year is our 50th anniversary, we're planning an extra awesome boogie! We will have an Otter (in addition to the PAC) starting on Thursday through the weekend for your jumping pleasure and to attempt to break some records!! When: August 8-11, 2013 Where: Skydive Milwaukee/Sky Knights SPC Who: CRW dogs, Wingsuiters, experienced skydivers, and students Why: Why not? Boogie Fee: $40/person (includes Saturday night dinner and one FREE t-shirt with the 50th anniversary logo if pre-registered) Daily Rate: $20/person Pre-Registration through July 20th will include a free T-Shirt. Additional T-shirts are $15 and long sleeves are $20. Limited extras will be purchased so sign up now! This year we are looking to bring in a food truck for lunch every day. Therefore, we won't be pre-selling meals as in years past, so plan ahead. Registration is NOW OPEN, so please visit https://skydivemke.ticketbud.com/2013-cheese-boogie to register for the boogie. Mike Lewis, Jim Rassmusen and Brian Martin will be CRW Organizing. Fast (me) will be organizing Wingsuiting on saturday. We will also have our local organizers for FF and RW Saturday and Sunday. Join the facebook event for this boogie here: https://www.facebook.com/events/209981682487181/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What: 50-way RW WI State Record Jumps When: Thursday, August 8th, 2013 - Friday, August 9th, 2013 Where: Sky Knights Sport Parachute Club, East Troy, WI Why: Sky Knights is celebrating its 50th year of operation. The club was formed in 1963 and the current “unofficial” state record of 49 was set some years ago over the skies of Sky Knights. We want to break that record with a 50way for our 50th. Who: To be a participant in this event, you must have successfully completed at least a 20-way skydive, have a minimum of at least 50 jumps in the last year, and have no less than 500 jumps. We are looking to provide a positive, fun and safe experience - as such we will not be compromising on jumper quality to achieve our goals. If we don't come up with the appropriate numbers of skydivers by a cut-off date of July 19th, 2013 the event will be canceled and deposits will not be charged. Costs: $40 for event registration and $24 per multi-plane shot. Still pictures and video will be available after the event for an additional cost. Other Details: All registrations must be in by July 19th, 2013. These record attempts are during the week due to availability of aircraft. Two Twin Otters from Skydive Chicago will be teaming up with our PAC750 to provide enough capacity for the 50-way plus video. This event takes place during the Annual Cheese Boogie and the registration for this event covers you for the boogie fee but does NOT include a boogie T-Shirt. If you wish to get a T-Shirt from the boogie, that cost will be an additional $15 and must be noted on your event registration. This record is being organized by TJ Hine and Derrick Krakau (Fast). If the record completes early, we will move on to doing large way sequentials. For questions, registration or other information please contact [email protected] You can download the registration form here: Registration Form ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I hope that we see some of you there! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Not at all afraid to say that I find this movie super amusing. I have a pretty healthy suspension of disbelief and that makes it pretty easy to get around the oddities. I almost never notice the little gaffs of continuity that people see. Also yeah, quade's post was pretty spot on. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I just got it back from a new face place install. I assume it was calibrated then but am not positive they do it automatically on units in for service Mike we have an altitude chamber that you can put it in and test it. Talk to Mary or Brian about it. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Why would you want to do that? I didn't say anything bad about Sky Knights. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I think it's fair to say all the same things about Sky Knights (Skydive Milwaukee) as well. We have a PAC and a 182, have a great student training program, etc etc. Asking this question in public on a forum is like asking what's better coke or pepsi. You're just gonna get all the opinions from the people that have choosen one or the other for some reason - which might not be the reason that they are telling you online. I could do my best to drag midwest through the mud or try and talk up why the dropzone that I jump at is "better" even though for all intents and purposes a lot of things are very similar at the two. But that's pointless. Come check out both places and see what we both have to offer. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Mine were ok with it at first, then after about 400 jumps she couldn't take it anymore and said quit or move out. I moved out. Couple thousand jumps in and a few trips to the dropzone to see that I actually do have some idea what I'm doing and she is more ok with it now. It's amazing sometimes how little faith they can have about the whole thing. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

It's all fun and games 'til you or one of your friends dies or you kill someone else. After that it's just sad - fortunately for you it's not something you have to worry about until it happens. Then you'll understand and likely not until then. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Ours is mowed in. We have an offset trailer that we use for mowing (so deck under the mower and the trailer). We set them at different heights and mow concentric rings for the main target. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=53120&hl=en&ll=42.79966,-88.370891&spn=0.003838,0.008256&sll=44.900771,-89.56949&sspn=15.171536,33.815918&t=h&hnear=East+Troy,+Wisconsin+53120&z=18 ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I am seeing posts in a bunch of the forums where all of a sudden there wont be the box on the left with the username/information of the poster. Just the post body. Any thoughts there, I assumed you guys knew about this, but hadn't seen in mentioned here. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

While this is effective for any one given dropzone - and sometimes it's all we have left - it's my opinion that there could be a more systemic approach to dealing with this across the sport. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Thanks for your opinion of my post in incidents. I have done all of these options in some manner or another. With varying success. A big part of this is the fact that there are big egos all around. I mean - very experienced jumpers deserve in some regard to be respected and have their opinion listened to. In reality that doesn't always happen and the vast number of reasons that people cite for why "X is just being a douche bag skygod he thinks im gonna out swoop him" or whatever it is that causes a newer jumper to disregard the experience are too long to name. Or are they? I don't have access to studies, but I am sure that there have been some done that are relevant to the type of behavior that we are talking about. Something out of psychology or some other behavioral science. I think it would be a worthwhile undertaking for someone to put together some kind of feature length video that actually goes into this topic. It would need to be genuinely unbiased, represent those who "got away with it", those who didn't, people who took their time and those who learned before they got too badly hurt. Show people really fucked up, in the hospital, the whole thing, pre/post, long term outcomes, etc. Dig into the research behind why people have a hard time judging their own skill. Cover basic dangers of swooping, basic learning progression, how to get help, how to know when you're fucking up. Maybe that's an unattainable goal and the idea in my mind is in super infancy so I am sure I have missed a lot of it. But a true hard look at the successes and failures of people, something that experienced jumpers could put in front of someone who wants to learn how to swoop and make sure they are aware of what the risks really are. An academic approach to the whole thing. Something that goes beyond - "Derrick just thinks I'll be better than him and wants to keep me from being awesome so fuck that guy" Dunno - that's my quick thoughts on the matter. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I would imagine that this is an intended effect. It's amazing to me how much hate and violence people can have for eachother. From the actual terror organizations to government officials all the way down to local dropzone members clear on through to the people on this very message board. There are so many reasons that this is happening and there are very few things we can actually do to slow it down. I think just trying to be nicer to one another would be a good start. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Yeah I saw that too. Either option would make me happy - 14's a a bit cheaper to fly in and more than enough for what I am able to do in a tunnel but 16' is super fun too ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

ATTENTION ATTENTION The dates had to be changed for the Cheese Boogie due to a conflict with a CRW event in China. The new dates are August 8-11th. They will not change again now. It's helpful as well because there was a concert at the local venue the same weekend and no one could get hotel rooms. I am very sorry if this causes some kind of problem. Thanks, [email protected] with any questions. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

13134 score ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Cool and with mention of the facility being similar to Austin - a 14' recirc sounds great! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I also want to throw out there that this year's Cheese Boogie will feature an Otter for the entire duration as opposed to a skyvan, which I know should make some of you CRW Dogs happy! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

For sure - I have in fact seen the exact stuff you describe happen. I wish people would be more cooperative in this sport - it seems as we push more and more into the younger groups of new jumpers that "respect the sport and everyone in it" mentality is going away. Though I guess I haven't really been around long enough to make a statement like that. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

We're using something along this line. I don't remember off the top of my head if the stuff we have is UHF or VHF. Transmitter and receiver have to match obv. You can find the pagers on ebay in lots many times for pretty cheap, but I would buy a brand new transmitter with a stubby antenna. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Sorry I'm the disappointment here, and not the guy who started swooping with 80 jumps total, and now some 200 jumps later is just asking some very basic questions. It's the dumbest of dumb, and anytime someone has to preface their question with, 'I don't want to hear your opinion on my experience or WL, I just want my specific question answered', you know it's because they are acutely aware that their experience or WL could very well be called into question. I can barely tolerate those who ask question they should already know the answer to, or who are simply farming for the answers they want. When they have to go the extra step, and include that they don't want to hear about any of the very poor choices they have made on top of that, I follow suit and throw all my good sense out the window as well. Meh - I agree with you (and your other post) and it wasn't mutually exclusive disappointment. I just guess I have moved past being shocked by the behavior of the 'I want to swoop but screw doing it the right way' crowd. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

If you know that you're coming to the boogie and are looking to getting a hotel room - you should book asap. They just announced a concert in the area (Jimmy Buffet) for that saturday and it will cause most of the hotel rooms to book up! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I'm willing to bet that's not going to be the case. I imagine you're frustrated at people around here, but honestly - with the quality level of most of your posts - this isn't something I would have expected from you. I have for a long time enjoyed reading your posts and I am not going to change my opinion based on just this one, but I dunno - just seems out of character. As for the original poster, please see the second half of my signature line - the word swoop and "safe" don't go together generally. I agree with pretty much all the stuff that has been said here. The idea is to get good coaching - shoot for a middle of the ground recovery arc lower performance wing and start learning the basics. Saber2 class. This question is so subjective. I mean, we might as well debate the different levels of danger with being caged in with different species of bears that havent been fed in a month. No matter how you cut it - it's dangerous. My personal opinion is that if you have accepted the substantially greater risk of swooping, as you go from not knowing much about swooping and having limit skills up to being well educated/practiced and using more aggressive turns, longer recovery arc canopies offer a slightly greater margin for error, though they do offer other downsides which can negate that gain in "safety". ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Might not be the case for everyone - but reading longer threads, it wracks on my brain some that the background color of the profile information is the same as the overall page background color. I temporarily firebugged it to something different on my computer and it was a little easier for me to deal with. I dunno - just my opinion really, I am sure you have your reasons for choosing the colors to use where you do. The narrow gap between the profile information and the body background just makes things start to blend together after I have been reading the forums for awhile. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Really? ***"I also have chosen to swoop through sets of trees now and then." "Risk management," (CHA?) not total avoidance of anything fun... what's next - stop skydiving cause sometimes people get hurt? I'm assuming you have great health insurance? Life insurance? Can you afford a $6,000.00 Helicopter ride to the trauma unit? In that film clip, you guys were landing in a 90° angle to the student under canopy coming in on final. You guys put his life in danger. And for what? Some people just figure they're beyond reproach. What if you would have had a malfunction while "Swooping through rows of trees?" You know, it doesn't have to be a no wind day to get in a jam. Heat rises and causes sudden and unexpected lift. But....You already knew that right? I never suggested stopping SkyDiving to keep from getting hurt, I merely watched the really cute video posted and made the decision it wasn't a very smart thing to do. I, for one didn't retain any knowledge from watching it. If I would have been there, I would have pulled both of you guys reserves. Good Luck to you sir, I fear you're going to need it b/c you have Mad Skillz! I do my best to avoid getting in arguments about this kind of thing over the internet. I have enough stress in my own life, I don't need this too. However, it's just too frustrating for me to ignore. Here are a couple of important points for you to consider before you lash out at me again. 1. If you're going act as you have, try not to make assumptions. I wasn't in said video, haven't ever been to that dropzone and have no idea who the actual people are. My knowledge of the events that occurred is limited to what I saw in the video. 2. You're so full of anger at what exactly? I can't imagine that you would act this way around actual people that you know, in person - if so, well I am just glad that I do not know you personally. 3. Constructive conversation requires not jumping to wild conclusions. I am hesitant to actually address the points that you made, but if I am going to post at all, I might as well do so. - I do have great health insurance, though I don't really think it's any of your business. You don't know anything about my financial situation, family life, etc - my choosing to have or not have life insurance is not your concern either. - From watching the video alone, while I don't think I personally would have chosen the line that they did, giving the approaching student (do we even know that it's a student?? - it was clarified that he isn't after I started writing this post.). Furthermore, do we know if he had been expecting them to take that line? Is this something that is done very regularly and would otherwise not incite panic as was suggested? Just from watching the video if they HAD continued on in a straight line they wouldn't have actually been in an area that would have affected the students landing. How it all played out in the moment is something that neither you or I know. Again, that being said - I personally, with my limited outside knowledge wouldn't have chosen to make that landing given that the other jumper was on final. - I don't know what you mean by "Some people just figure they're beyond reproach." - Malfunction while "Swooping through rows of trees?": Are you talking about some kind of equipment failure or are you using the word malfunction to describe some other kind of incident. I would imagine (and I am making an assumption here, cause it is not shown in the video) that deployment occurred somewhere out of the trees area at a greater altitude (above the trees or not) and they flew over to take that line. In the case of that kind of malfunction I would have landed my reserve normally and hiked out and recovered my gear. If you mean some kind of incident involving impacting the trees, well - that's the risk that you choose to take to make that kind of approach. That choice is up to me, like the choice to skydive at all is up to every individual. You didn't directly suggest that the best answer was "stopping SkyDiving to keep from getting hurt" but that's the correlation. We each all as individuals choose the level of risk that we are willing to accept. -As for your point about pulling reserve handles you're welcome to read my comments in this thread. As well as the other associated dropzone.com bickery including the following quote: Which is holds a strong correlation to what Ian just posted: As for mad Sk1llz, I will suggest that you don't know anything about me. Maybe I do, maybe I don't. What I can tell you is that over the last almost 10 years and 3000+ jumps I have made my share of mistakes, had accidents and learned from them. Generally speaking I am a pretty reasonable person and have had my share of problems solely because I do advocate safety - to a degree. Skydiving and risk like many other things in life are best taken in moderation. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I agree - most things come down to "who you know". ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka